Help! Not enough calories ...

[MelonManiac]

I never thought that eating too little calories could hurt a person, but I have actually been feeling like my body is holding onto fat because I'm not eating enough ... I've put together what I usually eat and actually added more quantities just to add calories ... I wanted to know what else I could add to it to add calories ...

2 Peaches
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper
1 cucumber
1-2 stalks celery
3 carrots
2 cups spinach
1 cup romaine lettuce
1 orange\
1 apricot/ these are used in a smoothie
a couple Tbsp balsamic vinegar (I know it's not raw :-X)

For a snack I either have chocolate covered strawberries if I didn't have a lot of fruit for the day ... The chocolate is just 4 teaspoons agave and 4 teaspoons raw cocoa powder mixed. OR I have RP's Brownies ... If I eat the WHOLE batch of RP's brownies my calorie count goes up to 1011 but I probably shouldn't be eating the whole batch (even though it's possible :-p)

Without the snack my calorie count only comes to 514ish ... I know I'm not supposed to worry about calories but I feel like I should be getting more for some reason ... I feel like my body is holding onto weight for no reason :(

[rawbeliever]

Yikes! You must be starving! :) I drink two 24 oz green smoothies a day, and that really helps lift my calorie intake. I also snack on fruit between smoothies (I end up eating about every two hours), and for my main meal I make a HUGE salad which (among other things) one whole mango and a half avocado. Raw corn on the cob is also good for bringing up the caloric intake.
I'm currently maintaining a low-fat (less than 20% fat daily, about 1/2 an avocado), 100% raw diet, and I'm consistently dropping an average of 1/2 lb per day. But ya definitely gotta eat. :)

best wishes, stay raw,
Robbie

[MelonManiac]

rawbeliever - I'm actually not starving BUT I think I tend to give in to cooked foods more when I don't eat enough ... I just feel like I'm eating a ton but I guess I could always add more ... I'm just at a loss of what else to add ... I'm scared to eat anymore fruit but the veggies I like aren't very high in calories so idk what to do :-O ... I tried green smoothies and I just can't make myself drink them :( ... The spinach, romaine, 1 carrot, 1/2 cucumber, and celery go into my salad ... I don't like avocados and eating nuts plain gives me digestion problems :( ... I like corn though so I will add that in :)

[Sammijane]

nuts. seeds. dried fruit. When I want a heavy calorie rich meal I make burritos (with walnut meat, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, maybe sour cream wrapped with collard leave or romaine lettuce) or sprouted hummus with flax crackers. use olive/hempseed oil on your salads... coconut oil in you smoothies and juices.

[MelonManiac]

Thanks for all the great ideas ... I will buy some sunflower seeds because they don't upset my stomach like nuts do ... I will also try to make some of Alissa's recipes maybe salad dressings ... I just like eating simply :-p so I will try the seeds and corn

[rawbeliever]

Why are you scared to eat more fruit? You could try working up to green smoothies...just a handful of spinach (which I've found to be the least bitter) and lots of fruit. It is an acuired taste for some. I also am more likely to give in to cooked if I'm not eating enough.

I've heard soaking the nuts prior to eating them helps alleviate digestive problems.

[MelonManiac]

I guess i have no reason to be scared of fruit ... When my family sees me eating it they say I shouldn't eat that much fruit past 2 or something and I reply by telling them it's better than eating that hamburger :-p ... I just have it in my head that too much sugary fruit will cause me to gain weight.

[rawbeliever]

Nope, I eat a ton of fruit, and I'm totally losing. Really, two bananas, two apples, three nectarines, 3 cups of berries just yesterday.

[Vegan Princess]

Add an avocado. Good fat!

[fjernsyn]

What recipe are you using for RP's brownies? Perhaps a half batch? Because 1 cup of dates and 1 cup of walnuts is definitely more than 500 calories.

[Merat]

I was scared once about eating alot of fruit. once you add the amount...man fruit are addictive, it becomes a second nature, stoumach grumbles when you outside, you just buy the nearest damn apple you can see. Yesterday I went into a cafe with my freind to buy a smoothie. I picked up an apple and paid for it without reliasing, all I went their was to buy a smoothie! It was as if the apple magically appeared in my hand and 50pence suddunly became missing in my wallet (Rather expensive for an apple dont you think?)

[mangotango]

I have to agree on the fruit thing. Fruit makes up the bulk of my daily calories, and I'm losing steadily. Don't fear fruit! Fruit is your friend. :)

[MelonManiac]

fjernsyn- Yea I was talking about a half-batch because a whole batch is a lot lol sorry! I totally forgot to mention it ... And I was estimating because I ended up putting it in on Fitday but I had to estimate the number of dates in a half a cup so it might be more calories :-o ... I just didn't want to resort to eating heavy deserts just to add calories ...

I have decided to add grapes and olives to my diet because they are both high in calories and olives have good fat in them (but I'm fighting whether I should eat the non-raw olives if I can't find the raw kind)

Thanks for all your responses :)

[fjernsyn]

Ah, gotcha. And I totally understand not wanting a bunch of nuts and dried fruit to make up half of your calories. Good luck figuring out what to eat!